Understanding & Changing Organizational Culture

Organization culture What it is How it works How to change it….maybe

Popular cartoons are often blunt about what is seen in some organizational cultures

What is culture? What are the organizational indications of culture? How might you “diagnose” the health of a culture? How is organizational culture formed? How can culture be changed?

Organizational Culture Individual Personality Levels of Change Societal Culture “Who we are,” customs Organizational Culture “The way we do things here” Team Norms What’s (un)acceptable; “This is what we do” Individual Personality Values, beliefs, temperament, habits; “Who I am”

Level of conscious awareness Long term, difficult to change The Culture Iceberg: 90% hidden Shorter, easier to change Observable symbols, ceremonies, slogans, stories, dress, physical settings, decoration, etc. Level of conscious awareness Values, beliefs, norms, customs, nonverbal behavior, etc. Long term, difficult to change

Assessment of Corporate Culture (Schein): An anthropological approach Norms Expected Behavior Standards Chain of command Wardrobe Folkways Customs Unconscious acts Shaking hands Arriving early Mores Subclass of folkways important to survival right-wrong behavior cheating on expenses Ceremonies & Rites Elaborate, planned events to celebrate values often dramatic in nature reinforce specific values create bond of common understanding anoint cultural heroes & heroines Languages Jargon terminology Culture Heroes & Heroines Personify values create role models intuitive & visionary ethic of creation not competition success attainable symbolize company standard of performance motivate employees Myths Frequently told stories Based on true or imaginary events shared & told to newcomers Symbols Events & things with special & deeply held meanings large office with window seating close to CEO

Survey/Data Feedback Identify area of concern & associated beliefs & behaviors Involve system in survey selection or construction Gather data Analyze data to contrast practice and beliefs Present to OD group Use Reflective Learning Model to identify discrepancies explore interpretations consider interventions Implement & evaluate Survey feedback

Denison Organizational Culture Survey Assessment of dimensions provides feedback on strengths, weaknesses, and implications for change

Force-Field Analysis for achieving a culture that promotes patient/client self-care in a general practice Don’t push the drivers… …reduce the barriers!

Team discussion Describe the artifacts of a work culture with which you are very familiar What are the underlying values and culture that these artifacts represent? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this culture? Is there a gap between where the organization is and where it would like to be? If you were to attempt culture change, how would you go about it?

Now the hard stuff… (culture change) Requires a “damn good reason!” to change Gap analysis is an important (if not essential) motivator Culture almost always wins over strategy Remove barriers, don’t push the river There are usually “revenge effects” (unexpected consequences) It takes time (4-7 years)

The following slides are only examples of various approaches to describing culture

Approaches to Understanding Organizational Culture Deal & Kennedy’s Corporate Culture Kilmann Saxton Culture Gap Survey Denison Organization Culture Survey Sonnenfeld & Peiperl’s Four Cultures Reimann & Weiner’s Shared Values Model Schein’s Qualitative Assessment Hofstede’s dimensions of Culture

Sample Culture Change Retreat

Kilmann-Saxton Culture-Gap Survey (actual vs. desired norms) + more improvement with increased task innovation (make changes, encourage creativity) + Improvement with greater task support (share information & help others) Task Innovation Support Personal Freedom Social Relations Human Concerns Technical Short Term Long - Performance and morale improve with change toward less task support - performance and morale improve with less task innovation + increase personal freedom (more discretion in following rules) + improvement with social relationships (participate, get to know people) - improvement with decrease in social relations (don’t socialize as much) - performance/morale improve with decrease in personal freedom (live for organization & its values) A Minus (-) score (unfilled bar) is a significant culture gap & indicates a desire for less of something. An unfilled bar can be a cultural barrier to organization success

Schneider Culture Model

Cameron & Quinn Model of Culture